


Pinky Promise

by roman (romanzsasz)



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Adulthood, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier-centric, Established Relationship, Fear, Fix-It, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, IT Chapter Two Spoilers, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Major Spoilers, Movie: IT Chapter Two, Not Canon Compliant, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Richie Tozier, boys are so in love, but yeah, film centric, more chapters added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-10-11 11:55:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20545757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanzsasz/pseuds/roman
Summary: It'd had been twelve years since Richie last saw him and he couldn't even remember his name, he only remembered what he felt whenever he looked at his face, he was left a blushing mess when this man smiled at him before entering the apartment across the hall from him. When he arrived to the studio late, he barely even registered the lecture he was getting from his manager, he just wanted to get home to see that guy and at least learn his name because he knew that face, he knew that feeling; he knew him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i know i have a million fics to update but i love these boys, they've been one of my biggest ships for like 13 years so i had to finally show my love for them somehow and i finally got some inspo so enjoy these two dorks being in love  
all mistakes are my own, i legit wrote this in an hour non stop

They're laughing and panting and words tumble from their lips before they can be processed in their brains as they spill into the open air of their bedroom. It's getting late into the evening and they both knew they had busy days at work the next morning but they can't seem to resist each other and they don't see why they should; they're happy, they're in love and nobody is around to tell them they can't be. It's a feeling Richie never thought he'd experience, not when they parted ways twenty-seven years ago but when he left his apartment one morning twelve years after leaving his old hometown, already running late for an interview he was supposed to be at, he ran into _him_.

  
It'd had been twelve years since Richie last saw him and he couldn't even remember his name, he only remembered what he felt whenever he looked at his face, he was left a blushing mess when this man smiled at him before entering the apartment across the hall from him. When he arrived to the studio late, he barely even registered the lecture he was getting from his manager about commitments and _live audiences_ and that he should count his lucky stars that the guest before him over ran which meant nobody even had the chance to realise he hadn't turned up in time but he didn't care and it showed when he kept zoning in and out of the interview only managing to save his reputation by nailing a new joke not yet used before. He just wanted to get home to see that guy and at least learn his name because he _knew_ that face, he _knew_ that feeling; _he knew him_.

  
Twelve years and one week later since he left his hometown and Richie got the balls to knock on that guys door and when he opened it he forgot how to form sentences, he didn't remember what words to join together to make a good introduction because his brain stopped working and the air escaped his lungs and they both just stood in an awkward silence and Richie realised that this guy looked just as breathless as he felt. Finally one of them said hi which came out more like a question than a welcoming gesture and then they were laughing and laughing and this guy was letting Richie into his home as if they were old friends and Richie thinks they must have been because he felt this bond in his bones, it was deeper than some stupid crush just formed for the first time in meeting this guy.

  
They drank coffee and talked and talked and _talked_ until the mid-afternoon turned late evening where coffee turned to bourbon and Richie was finding it harder and harder to convince himself that he didn't know this guy, hell, how could he when he didn't even know his name? But even that excuse wasn't working like it should, not when they were talking about things that only old pals would talk about; Richie learnt about his job, learnt about his life but only his adulthood, neither of them seemed able to talk about their childhood as if some sort of mist clouded that area of their brain but Richie didn't care because for the first time in twelve years since his left Derry, he felt _alive_. Richie learnt that this guy had moved since he split with his controlling wife, that it took a year to get anything from her with costly legal battles; the house may be in her name but the business he built was all his, he left her with enough money to keep her afloat on top of the alimony he has to pay but he doesn't even care, he just says he's willing to pay anything to be as far away from her as possible. Richie couldn't help but let the comment '_wow, she sounds just like your mother, Spaghetti-man' _slip from his lips as he brought his tumbler to his mouth and everything froze, like time had forgotten to continue and it only seemed to restart when a whispered '_Richie_?' entered the air and suddenly they were kissing and crying and laughing. Memories of each other from their youth filling their minds, blank spaces having tiny gaps filled; not enough to remember whatever it they must have forgotten but enough to remember who they were, who he was, _Eddie Kaspbrak_.

  
Fourteen years after he ran from Derry and to start his new life as Mr Funnyman, he was settled and living in a domestic bliss with a man he seemed to have been in love with since he was thirteen years old, a man who he may of forgotten for a while but not forgotten well enough because all it took was one comment, one nickname, for memories to flood his mind. Fourteen years and he was now living with a man he was totally whipped for in a way he never thought possible for Richie Tozier. Every evening when he returned from work, Eddie would be there to greet him with a kiss and a beer, their dinner already in the stove and Richie had to sit back and thank any lord above for letting him be so lucky, for giving him a man like Eddie; someone who annoyed him relentlessly, who made him move from the apartment he was living in across the hall and had been for ten years because Eddie found mould one evening lurking in the shower and was adamant it would kill them and he couldn't risk his asthma getting any worse, a man who ran a business almost by himself yet still found the time to cook food and stock the fridge. It was almost like living in a dream, a dream Richie never wanted to wake from.

  
Fifteen years after leaving Derry and he was a married man. His friends at work would laugh and joke about how Richie wasn't the type of guy to stick to one person this long only to be proven wrong when Richie turned up to work holding wedding invitations one morning. The ceremony was beautiful but Richie still thinks they could have gotten married in their front room of their new apartment and it would have still have been perfect because Eddie was the one he was marrying. The wedding was supposed to be lowkey but Richie was still a celebrity of sorts and word spread and before they knew it they were front page news; Eddie cut out the pictures the papers spread and framed them, he kept some of the headlines too because they made him laugh and Richie let him because he loved to make him laugh.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and twelve years of living in domestic bliss with the love of his life and they were in this moment of laughter and panting and love making as they celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary. Nobody believed they would make it this long but Eddie was determined to grow old and grey together, maybe living in the country in England or in a villa in Spain or a cute little house in France, just anywhere with Richie; anywhere with Richie as long as it was forever. Then it happened, it wasn't long after as they both swam in post-orgasmic bliss; Eddie panting in the bed, the duvet barely covering him as his sweaty body glistened in the late night light coming through the partially open curtains, and Richie stood in the doorway, two more beers in hand as he smiled at the scene of Eddie laid out in front of him as the last few moments of their mind blowing sex played out in his mind, where Eddie's back arched so beautifully, his skin stretching over his ribs as his gasped around the fingers hooked in his mouth, his thighs tightening while one hand grasped one of Richie's knees as his other grabbed the wrist hanging near his chin. It was such a wonderful moment that Richie wanted to replay over and over and over again when the phone rang breaking their happy spell.

  
It was Eddie's phone that was vibrating loudly on their nightstand, he moved to get it as his arms still shook from his remaining bliss only to stop as soon as the voice on the other end of the line spoke, he began shaking again but for a completely different reason after that;  
_"__Hello?"_  
_"Eddie Kaspbrak? It's Mike."_  
_"Sorry, Mike who?"_  
_"Hanlon."_  
_"Oh... oh, Mike, how... hey... what?"_  
_"You're a difficult man to find, Eddie, everyone else was pretty easy to find, but not you... I see you had a name change."_  
_"Yeah, I got married, it's Eddie Tozier now... I'm sorry Mike, but what is this all about?"_  
_"IT's back."_

  
A promise, a promise made back when they were kids ruined his happy anniversary with his husband, one phone call made the relaxed atmosphere something awkward. Richie got the call afterwards and he was somewhat glad Mike thought to call him and didn't rely upon Eddie to pass on the information because his husband was a shaky, tearful mess in their bed, on the other hand, he really wished he never had to know what was going on in that shithole Derry, there was a reason they all left those years ago and now, when he was _finally_ happy, when he was _finally_ with Eddie, (not only was he _with_ Eddie, he was _married_ to him), now everything was falling to shit and Richie still didn't fully understand what it even was.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and twelve years of being with Eddie, nine of those in marriage, he laid in bed with his husband clutched closely to his chest as he shook with some form of frightened tremors. Trains and flights to get them to Derry all booked in a haze, the laptop still laying open at the foot of the bed. The air around them had turned cold, the beers resting, forgotten, on the nightstand because Eddie was scared and Richie needed to be there for him despite being scared himself. There was something in Mike's voice that set him on edge. the fear and urgency in it that made them book the tickets and call in sick; blaming it on an issue they needed to sort back home much to both their respective workplaces dismay.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and twelve years spent in a loving relationship with Eddie Tozier (nee Kaspbrak), he felt afraid for the first time. He's felt the whole range of emotions since moving but he never felt scared, he's felt worried when one night a bad fight had broken out between himself and Eddie that nearly ruined them, he felt panicked when a jealous fan took a swing at his husband after a show but that never developed into fear only into blinding anger which made him thankful that security was there so he wouldn't have been arrested for beating the crap out of the person who dared hurt his beloved. He felt sad when he was alone and just couldn't understand why he couldn't make any relationship prior to Eddie work out, he felt depressed and anxious and happy and proud and every other emotion a man could feel but never scared, never this scared that it was making him clutch onto Eddie so tightly it must have hurt him but Eddie was too damn frightened to notice it himself.

  
The room was almost silent now, neither of them dared to make a noise as if by doing so it would cause everything to crash around them and destroy everything they worked so hard to achieve. Richie desperately wanted to talk, to asked Eddie how he was feeling, to make sure he was okay and if he wasn't to tell him what to do to make it better because Richie only wanted Eddie to be happy and smiling and laughing. Only, he couldn't get the words out and Eddie was the one to make the first move, he'd always been braver despite his weaknesses, Eddie linked their little fingers together before speaking in a soft and shaky voice that would have been so easy to miss if the room hadn't been so damn quiet;

_"Richie?"_  
_"Yeah Eds?"_  
_"Everything will be okay, right?"_  
_"What do you mean?"_  
_"When Mike called, you felt it too... that dread, that fear... it makes me feel sick, something doesn't feel right and I need to know everything will be okay."_  
_"Everything will be okay, it will be Eddie-Bear, of course it will be."_  
_"I love you."_  
_"I love you too."_  
_"Promise me, that when whatever it is we have to do in Derry we will still be okay? That we'll be okay and still be so madly in love like we are now, that everything will work out and we'll come home and be just as happy as we were before that stupid fucking phone call?"_  
_"I promise you." Eddie tightened their linked pinky fingers._  
_"Pinkie promise?"_  
_"Pinkie Promise."_

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry, he was finally returning. He was going back to a town that he used to call home before he realised what home really felt like, before he found Eddie again and loved him the way he only ever dreamed of loving him. Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and he was going back, husband in tow, with not only the promise of going back to join the losers club but also the promise of coming home with Eddie and loving each other until they're old and grey and living in the countryside in England or in a villa in Spain or some house in France, just anywhere with him; he had both of those promises looming over him now but there was really only one he wanted to keep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and he was back in the shithole he once classed a home, slow memories returning as he remembered his former best friends and he couldn't believe he'd forgotten them all however, if he could easily forget the love of his life, of course he would forget his school friends, but, he remembered Eddie, he'll remember them all in no time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was super inspired to add extra chapters, i couldn't let these boys go plus this chapter sounded so much like another fic i had planned so why write two of the same story when i could just add more chapters?  
credits to laura who asked for more chapters and got my brain working overtime

Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and he was back in the shithole he once classed a home, slow memories returning as he remembered his former best friends and he couldn't believe he'd forgotten them all but when he turned to face his husband who was sleeping in the passenger's seat next to him as they drove towards the hotel they were staying at, he realised it made sense; if he could easily forget the love of his life, of course he would forget his school friends, but, he remembered Eddie, he'll remember them all in no time.

  
Nobody else had arrived yet, checking in had been easy but waking Eddie had been hard, he didn't want to open his eyes and remember things that were probably best left forgotten. He is so scared and it was constantly breaking Richie's heart because all Richie wants is for Eddie to be happy and laughing like he has been for the last twelve years. He whispers sweet nothings to him, kneeling on the cold concrete while Eddie still remained in the car, he'd do anything for Eddie as the dampness of the ground seeped through his jeans and into his bones. He held his hands and kisses his wedding ring repeatedly as he reminds him of the promise he made the night before while laying in their bed together; he linked their pinkies together and tells him _we'll be okay and still be so madly in love like we are now, that everything will work out and we'll come home and be just as happy as we were before that stupid fucking phone call, pinky promise_, using the same damn words Eddie had whispered into the cold air of the bedroom, their anniversary spoiled as they laid tangled together in fear rather than in a warm embrace. Eddie nodded, his eyes opening for the first time since they entered Derry, his eyes watery with the unshed tears but he linked their fingers together and smiled for the first time since Mike called them yesterday and the relief that washed over Richie was almost overwhelming when Eddie got out of the car and pulled him to his feet, linking their fingers together tighter as he kissed him openly and freely for the first time since the phone call.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and almost twenty-four hours since he received the phone call the brought him back here and he was stood in a Chinese restaurant staring at the faces of people who should be strangers yet still felt like best friends in a weird way. These were people that Richie hadn't seen in nearly three decades and wow, doesn't the word _decade_ make it sound like such a long time? Then again, as Richie looked at each and everyone of his childhood friends, he realises it had been a long time; Bill was a famous, well published author who was married to a _f__ilm star_, Bev had her own clothing line that he'd seen in so many magazines yet never put the label to her name because he just couldn't remember her, Ben was an outstanding architect who had _awards_ for what he did, and Mike... well Mike never left but this town sure did age him compared the the kid Richie used to know. All these people, all these memories he shared with them and he just _forgot_, he stole a glance at Eddie who was talking to Bill and Mike and couldn't help but think that if Eddie didn't just happen to leave his wife and end up moving into the exact same apartment block as Richie, would it have taken until now for them to have met again? Would Eddie still be slowly suffocating at the hand of his ex-wife? Would Richie have _finally_ found someone who wasn't Eddie to settle down with? Would Eddie have still left his wife and found another man who made him smile the way Richie did? Or would they have met each other again, now, at this very moment for the first time in nearly thirty years and smiled and laughed and then kissed just like they did when they first met after fifteen years apart? When Eddie finally noticed him staring he smiled at him and Richie felt the tension leave his body because he doesn't need to think about the 'what if's because he has Eddie and that's all that matters. He was talking to Beverly who noticed the way he stared at Eddie because smiled like she knew some form of secret, muttering how he was so whipped and Richie didn't really understand what she was meaning, whipped for Eddie? Of course he was, he's been in love with him for most of his life and they were married so he really just didn't understand what her sly smiles and little whispers had meant.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and one and a half hours into a meal with his friends who were now laughing and joking like they did this every week and they finally got onto the subject of what they were doing and _who _they were doing it with. Bill was the first to talk about Audra, his love, but Richie already knew all this, remembers it from a late night interview he was watching when the announcement of Bill's and Audra's engagement went public, of course he didn't realise at the time it was Stuttering Bill on screen but as Bill described his wife and how they met Richie felt like he had heard it all before.

  
Nobody else had married besides Bev but she kept that conversation short and simple with a _'Yes that's my business, I run it with my... Husband, Tom'_, the pause in the middle of her sentence gave Richie and uneasy feeling about why Beverly was so quick to skim the subject and point the finger at him; _"So Richie, you married?"_ and then there was the laughter again and he just didn't understand, was it really _that_ unbelievable that he'd settle down and find love? Richie couldn't believe it when almost all his friends turned around and said they couldn't picture him as a married man as if he would be a shit husband when Richie knew he was a brilliant husband, Eddie tells him all the time. They ignored his protests when he tried to tell them he _was_ married and was loving every minute of it, almost like they really didn't care about what he's been doing while absent from Derry, like they wanted a good laugh and picturing a married Richie would be a fun little joke.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and one hour forty-two minutes into the conversation and it was Richie who couldn't stop laughing when his friends face dropped in both shock and surprise when his little Eddie told them all he was married, not once but _twice_. There was silence for a few moments before anyone spoke up again, it was Ben to ask the question first;

_"What happened?"_  
_"Happened with what?"_  
_"Your marriage, if you don't mind me asking."_  
_"You all remember my mother, right? Yeah, well I basically married someone who was just like her, who acted like her and talked like her and slowly killed me like her, we lasted eight years before I called it quits and asked for a divorce that took a year to finalise."_  
_"Wow, that must have been tough." Bev sounded so sympathetic which didn't match Eddie's shrug or tone at all._  
_"On the bank I guess, but I wasn't in love with her, not even at all... I moved away and fell in love, dated two years and got married and we've been married ever since."_  
_"Who is she?"_  
_"He, I married a man."_  
_"What?"_  
_"Yeah, I moved to a new city for a new start, right across the hall from Richie, we've been together ever since that moment twelve years ago."_  
_"Richie as in... our Richie?" Bill asked, Mike just smiled because he knew, of course he did, Eddie told him last night._  
_"Yeah, didn't any of you see the news? We were in it for quite some time with Richie marrying a man, it made for some interesting headlines... it's not even Kaspbrak anymore, it's Eddie Tozier."_  
_"You and Richie have been together for twelve years? Kinda disappointed we never got an invite to your wedding."_  
_"Sure have Billy-boy," Richie cut in, "Listen, whatever's going on here just left you out of our minds and we forgot, but our ninth wedding anniversary was yesterday, when we make it to the tenth year we'll invite you to a vow renewal which I haven't actually proposed yet but it'll happen."_

  
Eddie kissed him after that, a silent _'I'm saying yes, you moron_', he kissed him in front of their friends and it felt normal, natural like they've been doing this for years and maybe it's because they have, why would it be any different with four other faces watching them? The questions that followed after they pulled apart were quick, they grew excited and the smile that Eddie wore when talking about their marriage, as he showed Richie off like he was the most wonderful being in the whole world, really warmed Richie's heart but also made it really hard to not kiss him senseless and take him across this table right here, right now; instead, he settled on putting his hand on Eddie's thigh as his friends aimed their questions at the both of them. It wasn't the first time Richie spoke about his sexual preferences, he had several jokes about being gay in his stand-up, several jokes about Eddie that he run by his husband first who just scoffed and gave an eye roll but allowed the jokes to be written into his set anyway. However, it was the first time he felt comfortable bringing the big G word into a conversation with his friends, it just wasn't a thing people said back then unless you were being spat on and the word '_homo_' was used like a key to keep you firmly locked in that closet. None of his friends even flinched when Eddie came out, as if marrying Richie didn't make it obvious, they didn't make a huge deal about it when Eddie spoke about how hard it was to keep this from everyone and how thankful he was for Richie, and they all just hugged both of them when Eddie started crying and Richie felt like he was close to tears too because _n__obody_ had spoken so highly of Richie before, nobody besides Eddie.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and two hours thirteen minutes into the meal and everything turned into a shit storm. Mike dropped the bomb, they were back for it, for _IT_, and Richie wanted to throw up, wanted to go back in time to his anniversary with Eddie and made sure they turned their phones off so they'd never have to answer their fucking phones and they could both be at work and everything would be normal. Instead, the evening had turned sour and Eddie looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack when Mike explained what had happened earlier in the week to Don Hagarty and his boyfriend, Adrian Mellon, who had been brutally attacked then thrown over the bridge and into the waiting arms of the evil that lived in the sewers below. Mellon had been murdered and Hagarty had to live without the man he loved because of the backwards views of this town, the reason he and Eddie never got together in adolescence because it was bad enough being called a faggot without people knowing you actually were one, coming out publicly in a town like this was suicide. Richie could barely hear Mike over his thoughts now, over his worry for Eddie who looked like he was going to have an asthma attack or throw up or pass out or even all three which would probably be more of Eddie's style.

  
Richie was furious, he wouldn't have returned here if he knew the true reason, if Mike had helped him to remember everything over the phone he wouldn't have come back and possible risk his own life but most importantly, he wouldn't let Eddie risk his own life and if they ended up having a fight that would have been okay, _hell_, he would have even taken having a fight and Eddie asking for a divorce and moving anywhere that wasn't Derry, Maine, that he didn't go back when Mike called... he would take losing Eddie through a divorce than losing him by letting him dive head first into the unknown to be either killed by some sadistic clown (oh _fuck_, the clown, he remembers that stupid fucking clown) or by the straight boys who felt like they had their masculinity threatened because two dudes like to hold hands and wear matching wedding rings.

  
The atmosphere is tense, it's uneasy and if Richie knew that this was going to happen he would have stayed at home like Stan, Stan the Man, Stanley Uris who made the same fucking promise but never showed up; of course he wouldn't, even tiny little Eddie with his two fanny packs because he couldn't fit all of his medication into one, little Eddie who Richie remembers rubbing himself down with hand sanitiser the first time he played in the water after cliff jumping because of some other (probably non-existent and bullshit) illness his mother said he could contract from outside water and he listened because he was _scared_ of everything... even little Eddie Kaspbrak was braver that Stanley Uris but, _god damn it_ Richie missed him, missed his best friend; missed the guy who was the first person to find out about his crush on Eddie and didn't even batter an eyelid, who still treated him like a normal human being despite the fact he was holding onto this dirty little secret... he missed him.

  
His thoughts were filled of seeing his old friend, getting the hell out of Derry with Eddie and running, running, _running_ to the home which Stan shared with his wife and having a nice sit down and a catch up where they can share wedding photos and growing up stories without the fact they would all _fucking die_ if they stayed there too long, but when the fortune cookies came out, when they gave that message and started coming to life and Eddie (_Eddie, Eddie, Eddie_) was nearly in tears again, he realised he wasn't going to see his friend again. The phone call Bev had with Patricia, poor widowed Mrs Uris, he knew that IT had already gotten into the mind of Stan and he was _dead_, the big D-E-A-D and there really is no coming back from that. Richie wanted to hold Eddie's hand, wanted to bring him close and keep him safe but the Derry folk staring through the window or walking past them watching the six adults have a breakdown in the parking lot made him stop; who knew what would happen here just because he held his husbands hand. One name kept ringing through his ears, _Adrian Mellon_, and he couldn't let that be Eddie.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry, two hours since the old Losers Club had gone to their respective rooms to try and get some form of sleep that will probably never grace them since they all stupidly agreed to stay and listen to what Mike had to say, and Richie finally got to hold Eddie close. Eddie who was crying now, Eddie who could barely make a sound but small hiccups because he'd cried that much all because of the fear from being back home, from the same name Richie had thought of earlier in the parking lot. Derry was like this cage, it was a trap... a death trap under the disguise of a nice little town (come on! Move to Derry! Ignore out staggeringly high murder and disappearance figures every twenty-seven years! Just a small problem in the sewers, you never really loved your kids anyway, right?), it lured you in and you never leave only, they had left, they had made it far, far away from here and still they came back, Mike called and they came running because they had promised and now they weren't going to leave here, of course they won't. How could they? The feeling of fear only got stronger when they entered Derry, the stench of death was sickening.

  
Eddie clung onto Richie, kissing his chest as he shook, kissing any part of his husband he could reach and Richie knew what he was doing, what he was wanting when he moved to straddle Richie's waist (Eddie always did prefer to be on top, something about being able to see Richie's face from up there) and moved his kisses up to his neck and to his lips. Richie didn't stop him, he encouraged his husband even though their tears mixed between their lips when they parted, he held onto his hips as the slowly rocked against each other. Richie held him closer, moved faster, kissed harder and he wasn't sure what they were doing this for; the connection? Reminding each other that they still have this life together, even behind the closed doors of Derry's Town house, they could still make love, they could still fuck and nobody could hurt them here, or was it for the distraction? Because it's hard to think of anything other than your husband when your balls deep in his ass and he's above you and gasping and looking like a fucking angel. He didn't know and he didn't care, instead he welcomed both the distraction and the connection as they became frantic and almost bruising, marking each other to remind each other they were still there, that they still had each other.

  
If the other losers noticed the hickey's left on either of them as they all met up by the entrance to go where ever the living fuck Mike was planning on dragging them now, they didn't say anything. The didn't say anything when they stood there with linked pinky fingers, maybe they thought it was so they could hold hands without being obvious but really it was for a promise; a promise of going home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and two days since he returned, and Mike was dragging the losers to some den they used to have. Eddie was holding his hand now, tightly since they were out of view of the locals, as they approached an area that seemed so familiar to Richie but still didn't really understand why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, i know it said 3 chapters but this was getting too long and i had to break it down so im going to say there will only be one more chapter after this one but like uh, no promises lol  
once again, major spoilers for the film so unless you haven't seen the film and enjoy spoilers then please wait to read it, i don't want to ruin the film

Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and two days since he returned, and Mike was dragging the losers to some den they used to have. Eddie was holding his hand now, tightly since they were out of view of the locals, as they approached an area that seemed so familiar to Richie but still didn't really understand why. It's not until Ben falls through the ground into some underground bunker does he remember Ben being the one to lead them here, a hideout that he said he made for the Losers but looking back probably only did it to impress Beverly. When they all descend down Richie's memories are filled with laughter from his youth as he remembers the special moments they were down here; Eddie's old comics laying forgotten all over the place, posters that they all brought to hang up on the wall, old tapes that Richie remembers buying just because he thought Eddie might like them and the warmth that spread through him when Eddie would ask to put on some of Richie's music. They find the tin that Stan brought, full of shower caps to stop spiders from crawling into their hair, he remembers laughing in the hammock saying they weren't scared of spiders in their hair only for Stan to move and show that the rest of the group were all in the plastic caps; he remembers Eddie ripping his off his head when he thought Richie wasn't looking, but he was always looking at Eddie.

  
His husband let go of his hand to run a finger across a hammock, half on the floor where the ropes had snapped over the years and he starts laughing, starts talking about how Richie always used to hog it until eventually Eddie snapped and climbed in with him, socked feet poking at his ribs and his face to distract him from reading his comic because '_I wanted your attention, I always wanted your attention, man, I was so in love with you even back then_,' and Richie remembers that moment too because he could remember how close Eddie was and the first time he jumped in Richie had to try and control his blush and pray that Eddie never realised his hormones were running high and that having Eddie between his legs, their thighs pushed together, turned him on and cursed his stupid body for reacting that way. He felt embarrassed for a moment until he remembered once again who the fuck he was married too and didn't mind replying with a crude comment about how Richie just _loved having Eddie pressed up so close against him_ but his comment got cut short by the chorus of 'Beep Beep, Richie' that came from his friends, each of them laughing for the first time since the night at The Jade of the Orient.

  
When they finally climbed out of the ground Mike then explained about tokens, _fucking tokens_, that they would all know what it was and what they were looking for but they should all split up to do it. Eddie took a step back to be closer to Richie, holding the bottom of his shirt as he told Mike that splitting up was suicide, that really they should stick together and Richie thought that was a brilliant idea and second that only for them both to be shot down that it was 'something they need to do alone'. Richie didn't _want_ to be alone, he didn't _want_ to leave Eddie alone, that thought terrified him more than facing this stupid clown but in the end they still lost and had to part ways; Eddie pressing a kiss against Richie's lips, telling him to be safe and to come back with tears in his eyes as if he was scared that he was looking at Richie for the last time. The other Loser's didn't interrupt their moment, knowing very well that this was Derry and it could very well be their last time seeing each other.

  
Once they had all parted, Richie knew exactly where to go, his feet walking him to town and to the arcade almost immediately. He kept his head down, feeling like a scared kid again, scared in case someone _knew_ and they were the type of person to attack him over it (_Adrian Mellon, I just can't seem to keep you out of my head_), he was out and proud back in LA, everyone knew because after so many years it's time to tell people and when he's with someone as amazing as Eddie it's even harder to keep it a secret and _oh god, Eddie!_ Richie was open back home and so was Eddie, what if someone recognises him as Richie Tozier's husband? Or as his toy-boy like one paper described him despite their being only months separating their ages, or even as his stupid twink like an online blogger described him which had Eddie howling for hours as he read it (_babe! Babe! Read it, they think you're my sugar daddy! Oh babe, they think I'm this dumb twink who is with you for money, how funny is this?_). What if someone recognises him and hurts him? Pulling out his phone he stopped to send Eddie a text, it was only a matter of seconds when he replied saying he was fine, everything was okay, and finally Richie let his feet move onwards with the feeling of relief flooding his veins.

  
He stood outside the arcade for what felt like hours but was only probably seconds, he took a deep breath before breaking a hole in the glass of the door so he could open it. As soon as it opened his couldn't help but scrunch his face up in disgust at the stale and dusty air of this disused building, he quickly overcame the smell when he saw it, the only game that ever mattered to him: _Street Fighter._ Richie walked over to the machine and ran his fingers over the edge of the neglected machine when a memory made him flinch back like he was stung, a memory he didn't want to remember... he didn't want to remember the time he and his friends had split up, IT dividing them through fear, Eddie... Eddie wasn't there, Eddie was locked in at home and Richie couldn't get to him so Richie played video games and tried to squash his stupid-little-okay-massive crush on his best friend because Sonia had him trapped and god only knew what bullshit she was feeding her son, what lies she was telling him and all Richie knew was that Eddie probably hated him.

  
So, Richie played videos games, he did what he did best and that was Street Fighter. He played with anyone who wanted to play with him, he always won and when this cute guy came to play he felt his pulse race that little bit more and happily agreed. He stayed for a few games, Richie always won and it was nice to have someone to play with, someone who was friendly because he missed his real friends but he didn't know how to salvage his friendship with them all. It all went down hill when he offered to play one more game and _Bowers_ came in, his new friend shouting hurtful things at him and of course (_of fucking course_) the cute boy just so happened to be his younger cousin. When Bowers started throwing the homophobic slurs and insults around Richie froze, he felt humiliated and he left, he walked out until he could run and run and _r__un_ far away from those shitty people he left behind at the arcade. He ran straight to the kissing bridge and, with tears in his eyes, he knelt on the floor and carved in two initials into the wood _R + E _because even though Eddie wasn't there with him, he missed him, he missed him so much and, and, and...

  
Richie gasped, stumbling backwards from the impact of his memory and he suddenly felt the shame again, Bowers calling him a faggot in front of everyone just for playing games with another boy, accusing him for trying to make a move on his little cousin when that isn't what he wanted at all, he didn't _want_ to be with him because he was slowly realising he was in love with his best friend. Richie felt a headache brewing behind his eyes and stumbled to buy another token, praying that there was some still left in the machine and then he did the same thing he did last time he was here; he ran.

  
When he got back to the hotel Bev was already there, so was Ben and even though both of them knew he was gay he still felt ashamed, dirty even. They tried to greet him but he walked past them, keeping his head down and telling them he couldn't do this, he asked for Eddie and they said he hadn't returned yet. He sighed and stormed up the rest of the steps to his room, he wanted to cry because he was finally over all this internalised homophobia he developed as a kid, he was finally in a place where he was content with himself and Derry has made all that hard work feel like it was for nothing because now he feel like a freak again and even though he wants Eddie so badly right now, he really just needs to be away from his husband that little bit longer. He's thinking of going for a drive when Ben knocks on the door, letting himself in and tries to persuade him to stay; begging him that they need to be together to do it and if Richie leaves then Eddie will too and how could he leave them alone to fight this thing by themselves? Or was he planning on running out on them without Eddie?

  
Richie wants to scream because he's not leaving them to fight this alone, he just needs time by himself to sort his head out because he can't fight anything in this state but he lets Ben do his speech and agrees that he can't just runaway and he's right and blah, blah, _fucking blah_. Richie has done a lot of questionable things in his life time but leaving his friends to die, his _h__usband_ to die would never be something he'd do and the thought that Ben would even think he would leave Eddie behind made him furious. When Ben left he had a proud gleam in his eyes and Richie would bet his life savings that he was going to tell Beverly that he managed to convince Richie to stay... but now that means going for a drive by leaving through the front door was out of the question because they would still be on the stairs. Instead he climbed out of the bathroom window and snuck off without telling anyone, he'd be back before anyone noticed.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry, two days since he returned and Richie was throwing up in the library after shoving an axe into the back of Henry Bowers head. He didn't know what made him go straight to the meeting point instead of going back to the hotel, back to Eddie who was probably freaking out because Richie was the worst husband in the world and ignored all his calls and texts, but he was glad he did or Mike wouldn't be here now. Five minutes later and the doors were thrown open anyway, Beverly, Ben and Eddie running through to see the scene before them, Ben asked if they were okay and Richie couldn't help but be sarcastic with his reply because _yeah! I'm just peachy after, ya know, murdering a man_ only, his sentence stuttered, his empty laugh silenced when he saw Eddie, _his Eddie,_ with gauze taped to his face and blood staining his shirt, tears in his eyes as he stared at his husband with a weird look of betrayal yet fondness in his eyes and Richie's whole world just stopped because _Eddie was hurt_ and the questions were pouring out of his mouth before he could stop them;

_"What the fuck happened, Eds?"_  
_"Don't call me that, and you would know if you didn't fucking run out on us."_  
_"Babe, it wasn't like that... I was coming back, I promise but I needed to sort my head out."_  
_"Whatever."_  
_"No, sweetheart, don't be like this, I promise you I was only going to be gone five minutes, ten at tops to clear my head so I'd be focused but I just had this weird sense to come here and..."_  
_"You were gone nearly an hour Richie, I've been calling you, we all have."_  
_"I'm so sorry but please, angel, tell me what happened to your face."_  
_"Bowers stabbed me."_  
_"He fucking **what**?" _  
_"I was getting cleaned up, he was in our bathroom and when I turned around his stabbed me through the cheek... I pulled it out and stabbed him back but you finished him off."_  
_"I'm even more glad I gave that bastard what he deserved, kinda wish I didn't waste the ten seconds of guilt on him."_

  
And then Eddie was laughing, pushing past Ben and Bev to fall into his arms and hold him close. Richie could feel the tremors, he could almost feel the fear Eddie must have felt having Bowers in the room with him, being all alone with a knife through his cheek when Richie should have been there. Eddie was whispering to him now, admitting he was so scared the Richie had left them, that Richie had left _him _and he really didn't know what to do, Richie was quick to reassure him and reminded them that he still has a promise to hold. He would never leave Eddie alone, never leave him to fight alone and he was so, so sorry that he ever left, that Bowers _hurt _him and Richie wasn't there to help him. Eddie shook his head, kissed his jaw and whispered _beep beep Richie _and Richie knew that meant Eddie didn't blame him, he wasn't angry and really, Richie guessed they shouldn't waste time being angry because it the incident with Bowers proved anything it was that they could lose each other at any split second; not like he wanted to think like that at all.

  
Their moment was interrupted when Mike asked where Bill was, the panic in his voice at thinking he had bailed out on them, when Bev told them what had happened back at the hotel; that Bill said something about this kid who lives in his house, who he had to try and save but she didn't understand what he was on about and he had left before she could understand. When she called him Bill told her he had to do this alone, that nobody else was going to die because of him and Richie wanted to scream again because honestly, if this was something that Bill could handle by himself why did he even bother coming? Why risk their lives to get this far? If Bill could take care of it himself then Mike would have only called him and Richie and Eddie could be relaxing at home with a beer and late night TV, take-away from the only pizza place Eddie agrees to get it from, but instead everyone had suffered more trauma, Eddie had been stabbed and Richie had just _killed _a man. So, they ran, they knew exactly where Bill would be and they took off running towards Neibolt Street. Richie was getting sick of running pretty quickly and made Eddie promise that when this was all over they'd go on a weekend away, somewhere nice and relaxing where they barely had to move faster than a slow walk let alone run; Eddie laughed and agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie shut his eyes and breathed deeply as Bev and Bill argued, she was saying how it wasn't just his fight and Richie felt a little guilty for wishing it was just Bill's fight, but it wasn't and Bev was gripping an old fence spike in her hand as they all walked into the death trap that was the Well House.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will i ever stop adding chapters and just finish this darn thing? hopefully, the next chapter should be the final chapter (but jack! you've said that about every chapter! yeah but i mean it this time.... maybe)

Twenty-seven years since he left Derry, two days since he had returned (now bordering on three he guesses because what even is the fucking time now?) and he was stood outside the old Well House on Neibolt Street again, the same house where he got trapped in that fucking room with those clowns, the same room where Eddie broke his fucking arm and Sonia Kaspbrak took him away from them all (right before Bill punched you for speaking out because you were hurting, Sonia took Eddie _away_ and ten minutes later the losers club broke up). The same fucking house that lead straight to the monsters home underneath and Richie could feel his stomach twisting as Eddie grabbed his hand and held it tightly, he nearly lost all his friends the last time he was here and now he's back and he's going to lose them all over again and he can't bring himself to imagine how to move on if they don't all come out alive; if Bill can't get home to Audra, if Ben and Bev don't finally get their chance at happiness because Richie knows where their lingering looks are heading and it's straight to the bedroom at least, if Mike doesn't have the chance to actually leave Derry and live his life like everyone else had the chance and if Eddie dies... or if Richie can't fulfil the promise he made to Eddie. Richie shut his eyes and breathed deeply as Bev and Bill argued, she was saying how it wasn't just his fight and Richie felt a little guilty for wishing it was just Bill's fight, but it wasn't and Bev was gripping an old fence spike in her hand as they all walked into the death trap that was the Well House.

  
Then they got split, Ben, Bev and Mike trapped in one room and Richie was trapped in, what would have been, the kitchen with Bill and Eddie (_Eddie, thank god, Eddie is with me_). Ben was screaming from the other room and the fridge started shaking and Richie could see how Eddie backed into the corner, trying not to scream and he can remember Eddie telling him one night when Richie had snuck into Eddie's bedroom through his window and they laid curled up together in Eddie's bed with Eddie's arm still in a cast, after they first went into the Well House and just before the Losers Club had gotten back together, that the clown had come out of the fridge; all twisted and grotesque and he was going to _eat_ him. Richie took a step towards Eddie to make sure he was okay when the door swung open and there was Stan, well... not really, there was Stan's _head_ still looking youthful like he remembered, his dead best friends child-like head was in that fridge and it was opening its eyes and talking and _this is so normal, everything is fine_. Only it wasn't fine when Stan started sprouting spider-like legs from his fucking eyes and cheeks and started attacking them, he went to ask Eddie if he was okay after it disappeared and the next thing he knew he was on the floor; Stan trying to bite his _fucking face off_ as Bill tugged at him, trying to get him off as he shouted something at Eddie. He thought he was going to die in that moment (how lame would that be? The first to die and it's at the hands of his dead best friend, wow) but soon Stan went limp as Ben hacked at him with some large knife he had found on the floor and _oh_, Ben, Bev and Mike were back just in time to save him and watch as the _t__hing_ scuttled away, just in time to see Bill shouting at his husband... wait, Bill was shouting at his husband who was still stood in the corner, shaking violently, eyes filled with guilt and disgust as the tears threatened to spill over for the millionth time that day as Bill shouted _'You nearly killed him! You nearly killed Richie!_' over and over again and Eddie was trying to apologise _'I was so scared, I'm so sorry, I was just so scared Bill!'_ (Richie really thought Eddie was going to break down when Bill shook his head and said '_that's what it wants'_).

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and give or take three days since he returned and he was nearly the first Loser (second if you include Stan the Man) to die. Once Bill had pushed away from Eddie, Eddie rushed over to wrap Richie up in his arms, holding him close and apologising again and again because _you nearly died, you nearly died and it would have been all my fault, I nearly got you killed and I'm so sorry, I love you so much._ Richie held him just as tightly because Eddie was frantic, his hands constantly gripping the back of his shirt as if he was trying to prove Richie was still alive, that he didn't get him killed but Richie didn't blame him; Eddie could have died back at the hotel and Richie wasn't there to help him because he was scared, it just happened to be the same thing and he couldn't blame or hate his husband when he was so torn up, after Bill had laid into him so much that Eddie really thought _he_ would have been the reason Richie would have died if Stan actually tore his face off. Richie just held him closer, whispering _'guess we're just even now Eddie Spaghetti,_' and Eddie laughs, punches his arm playfully and laughs a little more and it's a beautiful sound even if it is shaky and choked up. Richie presses a kiss to Eddie's temple and takes his hand to follow the rest of his friends further down into the depth of the house.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry, twenty-seven years since he was last making the descent underneath the house, through the well and into the sewers and here he was doing again and _God_, he was way too old to be crawling through tunnels and wading through waist deep water that Eddie couldn't stop muttering about (_grey water, fucking grey water_). The fear spiked even higher when they stood around the hole that would lead them to the place that thing would reside and Richie was doing his very best not to throw up as Mike started to climb down like this was nothing, like he wasn't going down, down, _down_ into the depth of hell where they would probably remain forever and ever because they were going to fucking _die_ down there.

  
But when he turned to face Eddie to tell him he couldn't do it he saw how pale his husband was, he was swaying back and forth as if he was ready to pass out he knew he couldn't turn back, that _they_ couldn't turn back. Not now, not until it was over. Eddie was shaking his head, telling his remaining friends that hadn't already began the descent down to their graves that he couldn't do it, that if he could just stand by and nearly get the man he married killed what hope is there for him being able to protect the rest of them? It broke Richie's heart to see the guilt that ate Eddie up inside and did the only thing he could think of; grip his husbands face in his hands and force him to listen to a terrible pep talk that shouldn't have worked but yet it did. Somehow his comments about how brave Eddie was on so many different occasions (including marrying Myra but that just ended with an eye roll and a scoff before Eddie muttered _me_) made Eddie stand that little bit taller pressing his lips against Richie's for good luck, agreeing that he could do it (_they couldn't, oh god, he should have just let Eddie stand outside and wait because he was letting his husband go to his grave_). Beverly smiled, handing him the fence spike she had carried with her, telling Eddie it could kill monsters and when Eddie took it and softly asked _does it? _(only if you believe it does) Richie could see the five foot nothing thirteen year old who had been so scared that summer that still lived inside Eddie.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry, it had been _twenty-seven fucking year_s since they last fought this stupid fucking clown that was now eighty feet tall and half _spider_ of all things and he was being thrown across a cavern underground because Mike's ritual didn't work; they burned all their tokens _('babe, yours if a fucking metal arcade token? You know that will take forever to melt, right?' 'Uh, Eds, your inhaler will take ages too, releasing all those lovely toxic fumes._) and yet it still wasn't strong enough to kill the damn thing. Mikey just forgot to mention that the original tribe that attempted it just died horrible deaths and _IT_ stayed alive, just a tiny detail that he should have told them _from the fucking start_.

  
Instead, Richie was nursing a banging headache as he tried to open his eyes against the pain, the deadlights making his brain feel fuzzy which wasn't help as he fell to the floor. A piercing demonic scream made him wince rang out, echoing off the walls but before he could even understand what was going on someone was shaking his shoulders telling him to _wake up! Wake up Richie, I did it!_ and when he finally managed to open his eyes he saw the beaming smile of his husband, his eyes filling with a nervous pride and Richie had never thought he looked more gorgeous in his whole life (maybe besides his wedding day but that was _special_ and he's a weak, _weak_ man when it comes to Eddie Tozier in a suit). Richie smiled widely, doing his best to sit up so he could kiss his husband thoroughly but when their lips were literally only an inch apart Eddie gasped and suddenly he was gone and Richie just _screamed_.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry, several days after his ninth wedding anniversary and the man who he shared his vows with, _till death do us part_, was now hanging twenty feet in the air with a fucking spike through his chest and Richie just couldn't stop screaming because that was _Eddie_, that was _h__is Eddie_, the man he loved more than _anything _and he was going to die, he was going to fucking die and Richie didn't know what to do. He barely heard the way Beverly screamed at the sight when Richie's screams caught their attention, as they all helplessly stood by as this fucking creature dangled _his husband_ in front of them before chucking him away like an unwanted ragdoll. Richie didn't even need to think twice, he was already running to where Eddie was, already stripping from his jacket and from his plaid shirt to use them as makeshift bandages because Eddie needed him.

  
When Richie managed to reach his husband he felt the familiar feeling of wanting to throw up again, Eddie was pale and there was blood pouring from the great big _chest wound_. Richie fell to his knees, maneuvering Eddie so he could tie his jacket tightly around him to help stem the bleeding, whispering soft words to him (_I know it hurts baby, I'm so sorry, just let me take care of you, good boy, that's it, I love you_) and used his shirt to press against the front of the wound, he could feel the warm dampness seep between his fingers as his shirt absorbed the blood too fast and Richie knew that soon it was going to become useless but he didn't know what else to do besides stripping down to nothing to help Eddie; and he would do that, of course he'd do that, he'd do _anything_ for Eddie.

  
Eddie was trying to talk, trying to move, he barely managed to lace his fingers with Richie's hand on his chest, both of their hands now stained red with his blood and Richie just wanted to cry, he wanted to scream and sob. He prayed it was a dream, a stupid and shitty dream that would have him waking up in a cold sweat, panting beside Eddie back in their LA home and Eddie would turn on the lamp and hold him close and pet his curls and whisper that it was only a dream but no matter how hard he prayed... Richie wasn't going to wake up from this.

  
He didn't know how long he was knelt besides Eddie as his friends yelled and the creature continued to attack, but he didn't care because Eddie was trying to talk to him but it was almost like the words couldn't escape, but the look in his eyes said so much ('_I love you, I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry_') and Richie kissed his forehead and used his spare hand to run his fingers through Eddie's hair because Eddie always loved that. His forehead was clammy and his hair was damp with sweat and it reminded Richie of the time Eddie got the flu something awful and when he wasn't in the bathroom throwing up or acting delirious (_remember when he tried flirting with you and started crying because you told him you were married when he asked if you were single? Remember how funny it was when he forgot he was married to you? Remember when..._) Richie would kiss his forehead and run his fingers through his hair, the only difference this time is that Eddie doesn't have the flu, Eddie was stabbed through the chest and you can't get medication to fix that.

  
Twenty-seven years after he left Derry, the very same little town in which he met his best friend, his soul-mate, a place that probably held a lot of happy memories before the summer that changed his life forever, he was back. He was back in the sewers, he was back with the losers, he was back with the clown and it was just like before only this time... this time when they run out of the house and into the street Richie fears Eddie, (his Eddie who is gasping and spluttering who almosts starts sobbing when Richie moves him to rest against a rock for protection as the losers set up a plan to kill the clown once for all) won't be beside him when they escape the house this time; this was more than a broken arm, more than some scrapes and bumps and bruises that Eddie got the last time they were here, this is worse than the flu and food poisoning and that infection Eddie contracted when he cut himself on a rusty nail, this was a _fucking hole in his chest_.

  
Richie kept the pressure on Eddie's chest, scared that if he let go for even a second Eddie would die right in front of his very eyes. Eddie coughed, the movement jarring him and he winced and Richie just wanted to cry as he wiped away the pained tears running down his husbands cheeks;   
_"Hold in there okay? You're going to be just fine."_  
_"Richie... I have something to tell you."_  
_"What is it Eds?" Eddie's breath came out stuttery before answering._  
_"I fucked your mom." Richie wanted to cry as he laughed._  
_"This is no time for jokes you idiot, fuck man, I love you."_  
_"I love you too."_  
_"And you're gonna be just fine, we can sort out the issue of you fucking my mom when the only person who should be getting fucked is you, by me, when we get out of here."_  
_"I can't wait." Eddie's smile was pained but genuine._  
_"Richie! We need you!" Beverly's voice cut in, breaking their moment, Richie barely even realising that he left his friends to fight the clown by themselves._  
_"Go, go help them."_  
_"You stay right here."_  
_"Does it really look like I'm going anywhere?"_

  
Richie had laughed again and kissed his husband before leaving him to join his friends in make this clown feel small, ready to put an end to it's reign of fear after It killed Bill's little brother, killed so many people, _nearly killed Eddie_. They were finally doing what those before them couldn't do as Mike pulled the still beating heart out of the pathetic creature chest and they all crushed it together and watched as the remains turned to ash and began to float away but Richie didn't even stop to think about their win; he ran to Eddie, wanting to let him know it was all over, that they can get out of here and go home. He was the first to leave, to run back to Eddie, nearly yelling at his husband that they've done it, that they'll be okay now as he approached him but his heart stopped and his smile slipped as his husband didn't respond and Richie's heart dropped to his stomach because Eddie wasn't _moving_, he wouldn't open his eyes as Richie dropped to his knees and held his shoulders tightly just yelling his name (_Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, wake the fuck up Eddie, babe, please!_), his arms shaking or maybe it was just the movement of the cavern as it began to collapse around them and _oh, wait_ the cavern was collapsing around him and now he knew he was screaming as his friends pulled at him telling them that they have to go, they have to get out of here yet nobody was grabbing Eddie, why weren't they grabbing Eddie too? He wasn't going to _fucking leave him_ despite how many times Bev tried to tell him he was gone because he wasn't, he wasn't gone because Eddie promised he wouldn't go anywhere, they had both pinky promised to go home and grow old together and he didn't care what his friends said; Eddie was not gone and he was _not_ leaving him down her alone. It was dark, Eddie hates the dark.

  
Twenty-seven years after he left Derry and he wished he never answered his phone, he wished he never came back. If he didn't then he wouldn't be covered in his husbands blood, he wouldn't have had to fight for the right to bring Eddie with him despite his friends trying to tell him it was useless, that Eddie was dead because he wasn't and even if he was, why couldn't Richie take his husband home? Why did he have to leave him behind? If Eddie was staying behind then so was Richie and Richie guessed his friends didn't want to lose another Loser because soon Ben was grabbing one side of Eddie as Richie grabbed the other to help carry him out; he had made a promise with Eddie and by god, Richie was determined to keep it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie looks at the photo of Eddie he keeps in his wallet, it's small and creased and dog eared from where he kept taking it out to show him off or to just look at because it's Eddie and he loves him so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter is a bonus chapter:) i know i said this would be the last but this time i actually promise, chapter six will be the last

Richie looks at the photo of Eddie he keeps in his wallet, it's small and creased and dog eared from where he kept taking it out to show him off or to just look at because it's _Eddie_ and he loves him so much and Eddie was smiling, in the photo, his face happy as he smiled mid laugh and Richie can remember the moment he took it; _Eddie was laying on the bed, he was on his back trapped between Richie's thighs who was sat on top of him and he was laughing and talking about how it was a bit roles reversal in this position which made him laugh harder, it didn't help when Richie started telling him his favourite jokes, creating a new one just by looking at Eddie making him blush and laugh and nearly cry with happiness and Richie had to grab the polaroid camera Eddie kept from his bedside table and snap a photo because he just looked so carefree and alive and happy and alive and... and..._

  
Richie felt the tears build in his eyes remembering that moment of utter joy, their old neighbours had complained the next day that they had been too loud and had muttered something disgusting to them both (not for the first time) but Eddie had still be living from that utter joy from the night before and instead of letting Richie defend his husband like he normally does Eddie laughed, gave the fakest and most sarcastic apology and grabbed Richie's crotch, telling their neighbour that it was probably best if he stayed out for a little longer because he wasn't too sure he could be quiet for him. Richie had been so turned on in that moment, watching Eddie act that way when normally he got upset or angry, having him drag him back into the apartment to have his wicked way with him. The neighbour moved out shortly after, but Richie still smiled when he thought of that moment, part of him (probably his dick) thanking his neighbour for releasing that side of Eddie.

  
_Eddie_, the name filled Richie with warmth and happiness, it filled him with so many emotions that sometimes nearly left him overwhelmed. Since returning from Derry his memories of his husband had been even stronger, he remembered every fight, every lingering look, every almost-kiss-but-not-quite, every touch that was slightly too affectionate, he remembers leaving... the look on Eddie's face, he promised to come back and to visit but he never did. He left Derry and left him behind, but not again, never again. He still remembers screaming at his friends in that cavern, begging them to help Eddie because they wanted to _leave_ him, they thought he'd be a deadweight to them and he wasn't, he... he...

  
A knock on the door had him stuffing the photo back into his wallet, putting it back in his back pocket as he turned to face the door. Bill was stood there and his presence was somewhat comforting and it was nice to know that, despite the nightmares sometimes, they all remembered unlike last time; they all remembered and stayed in touch and met up and... "_You ready?_" Bill snapped him out of his thoughts again, he met Bill's eyes and nodded because of course he was ready, why wouldn't he be? This was nothing, he helped kill a murderous clown _twice_ and even actually succeeded... so why was his stomach twisting so much? Why did he feel like he was going to throw up?

  
"_Hey, Rich... you ain't looking too good." Bill stepped further into the room, letting the door close behind him._  
_"Good is my middle name, I'm great, I'm fantastic, I'm..." Richie started messing with his tie, "I'm freaking out."_  
_"Why? It's okay, Richie."_  
_"It's not, I'm not, Eddie..." Richie felt the tears again, "Eddie... he..."_  
_"I know," Bill stood in front of Richie, moving his hands away from his tie so he could smooth it out for him, "I know Rich, I know it must be still hard and I'm so sorry, man, I really am... for everything." Richie shook his head._  
_"No, don't... not again, I swear if a single one of you starts apologising to me over that night one more time I'm going to throw myself out of a window."_  
_"Okay, I get the message, but come on, you'll be late."_  
_"Eddie..." Bill just nodded._  
_"Yeah."_

  
Richie looked at himself in the mirror for a quick once over; his hair was still as unruly as normal but Eddie liked that, his suit was one that Eddie had pointed out before Derry, it was plaid and grey in colour and his shirt was white (_I__ read about this, it was in an article about the new Rogan and Marsh suits, you gotta pair a grey plaid suit with a white dress shirt if you're going for a clean, dapper look babe, I think you'd look gorgeous_) because Eddie wanted to see him in one but he never had the chance, his tie was now smoothed out and laid neatly thanks to Bill, it's deep mossy green colour wasn't something he'd normally choose but Eddie always loved it when he wore the deep greens because he always loved the way it brought out Richie's eyes and Richie would do anything for Eddie, _Eddie, Eddie, Eddie_.

  
Bill patted him on the shoulder, _for Eddie_, he met Richie's eyes in the mirror as he said those two words and Richie didn't even realise he said them out loud but having Bill say it too brought him relief as they both walked out of the room and down the hall and through more doors to a room full of their friends and family and Richie's hands were shaking as he walked to the front of the room, smiling at Bev and Ben who were holding hands on the front row, Mike sitting next to them. Bill asked him if he was okay once more before going to fill the gap between Mike and Audra. Richie took some deep breaths as the stubborn tears just didn't want to disappear but he was determined not to let them fall... not yet. He's eyes wandered around the room, he shouldn't be here, he didn't think it would happen and all he can see is Eddie covered in dirt and blood and how limp he felt in his arms, how weak he had been and... and...

  
The doors open again, music starts playing, a song Eddie loved and Richie turned around and this time the tears fell and there was nothing he could do to stop them; the tears fell and his smile widened because there was Eddie, _his_ Eddie, living and breathing and alive. He shouldn't have been, the blood loss alone should have killed him but he held on and they got him to the hospital and he had transfusions and skin grafts but he was lucky, _It_ had missed his spine by millimeters, it could have done some irreparable damage but he had lost a lung as the spike had torn right through his left lung and dragging his body through the sewer water didn't help at all and an infection set in pretty quickly and it was a case of lose a lung or die.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry and it had already been a year since the whole _stopping IT_ thing, their tenth anniversary had snuck up pretty quickly but Richie had suggested the vow renewal, he re-proposed to Eddie while in hospital and now his Eddie was walking towards him in the same venue where they had their wedding ten years ago; only this time their friends were here to see it. When Eddie reached him he grabbed his hands and held them tightly, his own smile was almost blinding and Richie thanked anyone who would listen every day for being granted more time with the love of his life, for being able to share this moment together.

  
The ceremony was everything Richie could have hoped for and more, there was laughter and crying and his eyes never left Eddie's. Their vows hadn't changed much, they vowed to always love each other and always be there for each other, to make each other happy, make each other laugh and smile, Richie promised to always include him in his stand-up and Eddie promised him he'd be in the audience at every show. They exchanged rings just like the first time only they didn't buy new ones, the got their old ones engraved with a simple '_pinky promise'_ on the inside because that lone promise is what kept them together, that kept Eddie alive, they're both almost certain on it because somehow they managed to keep it, they made it home and were still as hopelessly and pathetically in love with each other.

  
Eddie was in Derry hospital for three months until he got the okay to be transferred to one closer to their home, but then had to spend another three months in this hospital because, with the severity of it all, the doctors were worried infection could still creep in to his chest wound and over the winter period they were scared of him getting some form of chest infection that would affect his lung and his body would have a hard time shifting it; next year they said he would be okay, he'd be strong enough by then to be able to fight it. Spending Christmas in the hospital wasn't their ideal situation but they still ended up having a great time and their friends came to visit over the festive period, Eddie was released towards the end of January but hadn't returned to work until May but he was _alive_. When the officiant said they could kiss Richie couldn't help saying '_don't need to tell me twice'_ as he pulled Eddie close and kissed him in a way that may have been a little obscene in front of his family but he didn't care, this was his big day and he was going to enjoy it and he was going to kiss Eddie anyway he wanted and if anyone had a problem, that's their issue isn't it? Not his.

  
A whole year since his left Derry for the second time (and for the last time), a whole year since he got a phone call that changed his life, a whole _year _since he nearly lost his _husband_ and sometimes he still wakes in the middle of the night, screaming (_We can't leave him! Guys! Guys? Someone grab Eddie! We gotta get Eddie!_), having nightmares of leaving Eddie behind and losing him completely tearing through his mind until he's thrashing around because they _hurt_ but Eddie (_Eddie, Eddie, Eddie_) is grabbing his shoulders and guiding him out of his own head until he's awake and gasping and sobbing, pulling Eddie close and holding him as tightly as he could to remind him he was okay now; the six months without him had been painful, his sister came to stay with him during that time when Richie had to sleep alone because Eddie was still too sick. A whole year since he said goodbye to that shithole town full of backward thinking assholes and he was renewing his vows with the losers club present (_There's no Stan, Stan The Man, he would have enjoyed it, he would have rolled his eyes and called them out for being inappropriate with their kissing but Patty was there, Mrs. Uris, sweet and lovely Patty who, Richie noticed, did the same little eye roll that Stanley used to do and maybe Stan was here, in some way_). A whole year and they were listening to the speeches from their friends, Bill doing most of the talking about 'Trashmouth and Wheezy from the good old days', the rest of the losers throwing in quips and memories where they seemed fit and the whole speech was a mess but everyone was laughing and in some way, even though Bill's speech didn't go how it was supposed to on paper, it seemed perfect; mismatched words from a mismatched group and it _worked_.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry the first time, a year since the last time and thirteen years of domestic living with the love of his life and Richie was spinning his husband around a dancefloor, having their first dance as a freshly (_'We're not newly married Rich, we've been married ten years... it's more of a refresher marriage right?_') remarried couple who really couldn't keep their hands off each other. Eddie laughed, his face flushed as Richie dramatically dipped him, this dance wasn't as serious as their original dance (_I've booked us dance lessons, you can think twice if you believe I'm to dance with you in front of actual people when you can't even walk without tripping up, no chance Richie, don't bother arguing because we're doing this_), their first one was full of choreographed moves that Richie and Eddie spent _months_ learning with their dance teacher (_"He has such a fantastic ass, don't you agree Eds?" "I'm going to fucking divorce you before we even make it down that fucking aisle if you keep talking like that, you bitch"_) that fell in time to their chosen song that they spent weeks trying to agree on, but this time it was easier; they chose something upbeat and away from traditional, their dancing was made up on the spot and it was _fun_, it was so different to how they went about this the first time around.

  
After their dance the rest of the guests took to the floor, Eddie and Richie retreated to the tables; Eddie pulled three chairs together, one on the end faced the side of the other chair rather than the dance floor, he pushed Richie onto the middle one and sat on the odd facing one but before Richie could ask what he was doing Eddie had pulled his legs up to rest them on Richie's lap and his feet on the spare chair. Richie smiled and didn't bother to move him, instead he put one hand under his knees to stop him from slipping and the other on his thigh because Richie could never get enough of Eddie's thighs.

  
_"How you doing babe?" Richie asked, eyeing Eddie's chest as it rose and fell quickly. _  
_"I just need a breather, I'll be fine, don't worry, just still trying to get used to this whole one lung thing."_  
_"I shouldn't have spun you so much, sorry."_  
_"Shut up," Eddie rolled his eyes and smiled, "If I couldn't handle it I would have asked to stop and you know that."_  
_"Yeah, but..."_  
_"No buts, Richie, I spent most of my life thinking I couldn't breathe and having asthma attacks, I can handle this."_  
_"You never had asthma, remember?"_  
_"Still thought I did, even when I met you again I was still, stupidly, convinced, still had asthma attacks... Well, actually just super intense anxiety attacks, but still, I spent most of my life this way, besides," He held Richie's hand on his thigh, "Nothing is going to ruin this day for me."_  
_"I love you, so much."_  
_"I love you too."_

  
They spend the rest of the night with each other, their friends dragging them back to dance and drink once Eddie could breathe properly again; Ben and Bev were engaged ("_Took you long enough, by the time you two got your heads out of your asses, I had already proposed to Eddie twice."_) and they were already talking about kids once her divorce had finalised and her share of the company was given to her so she could continue her work, Bill had brought Audra and Eddie almost couldn't believe she was at his wedding especially after Richie told everyone about the time they were at the cinema and saw a film with her in it and Eddie confessed that she was his girl-crush (_"Honestly, if was straight I'd marry Audra, she's just stunning, her husband is so lucky, he got her and I got you, shame_."), Eddie was embarrassed but she had just laughed and kissed Eddie's cheek and said she was flattered, that if Richie turned out not to be the one for him and he realised he actually like women then to give her a call, that she'd leave Bill for him ("_I'll keep that in mind but I think Richie might be the one for me forever." "Babe, that's so cu..." "But give me your number just in case._"), Bill also released a new horror novel with an ending people actually loved and became a bestseller within two hours of its release, Mike had finally moved to Florida, he'd met a girl over there and they were taking things steady but he was happy and he was smiling in a way Richie never saw before, not on Mike, he looked alive and his hands didn't shake and he didn't speak in frantic tones and it was so nice to see him this way. Patricia Uris had come to the wedding, they had all offered their support after Stan and Richie never expected to form a strong bond with his dead best friends wife but she was so like Stan in a way, she had his mannerisms and his odd humour and interests and even though he could never see Stanley ever again (he _knew_ that, he really did, he just _hated_ it) it was nice to have this connection with him still.

  
Twenty-seven years since he left Derry, a year since he left for the final time and he was back in the same room, in the same position as he was when he got the phone call from Mike; Eddie was tangled in the sheets, Richie was holding the beers in his hand that weren't going to go warm like last time if he could help it but the bedroom eyes Eddie was sending him again might just get in the way of drinking and Richie would sacrifice a cold beer for Eddie. He walked over to their bed and climbed back on, as soon as his knee touched the mattress, Eddie was grabbing at him and pulling their lips together in a kiss that was more tongue than lips and Richie couldn't understand how a man with only one lung could be panting to death after a dance but would happy screw way into the night multiple times with minimal breathing opportunities... not like he was complaining.  
When Eddie pulled back he rested his forehead against Richie's for a moment before taking a beer from his husband and sitting back against the headboard, Richie moved to sit beside him. They clinked their bottles together and laughed as they drank, Richie couldn't stop thinking about how he almost never got this, how Eddie almost never made it home; the scar in his cheek was jagged and thin and it took a long time for Eddie to look at himself in the mirror again, the scar on his chest and back was raised and noticeable as it had to be made bigger in order to save Eddie's life. When Eddie had returned home he refused to take his shirt off in front of Richie, it just got worse when the dressings came off and he no longer needed the wounds to be covered, it took months for Richie to coax him into getting fully naked for him, reminding him just how beautiful Richie thought he was. Eddie looked over and he locked eyes with his husband, his smile was warm and bright.

  
_"You're beautiful." Eddie said, Richie rose an eyebrow,_  
_"Thank you, but uh, where did that come from?"_  
_"You just called me beautiful, I just wanted to let you know that I think the same thing about you." Richie smiled, he leant down and kissed the scar on Eddie's cheek._  
_"I love you," Richie said, kissing down Eddie's jaw, "I fucking adore you." Eddie just laughed and took the bottle out of Richie's hand and moved to put them both on the bedside table before getting closer to Richie again._  
_"I love you too," He kissed Richie's chin as he looked at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "I love you so much, Trashmouth."_  
_"Ooh, Trashmouth huh? We talking dirty tonight?" Eddie laughed and the sound was like music._  
_"We talk dirty most nights, I just... I... Thank you."_  
_"For...?"_  
_"For today, I don't know which day was best, our actual wedding day or today."_  
_"Just wait until our twentieth anniversary, people will be sick of attending our vow renewals, how many times can you do it anyway?"_  
_"Some people do it every year."_  
_"Don't fucking tempt me," Richie said, pulling Eddie onto his lap, "I would renew our vows every year, every /day/ just to see you smile like you did ten years ago, like you did today."_  
_"That's so romantic but I know it's just so you can see me in a suit again."_  
_"Oh fuck yeah, when you wore that black suit for our wedding I went weak at the knees, when you wore that deep blue, plaid suit today I was worried I was gonna jizz in my pants in front of everyone."_  
_"Maybe you just have to take me somewhere nice and I'll wear it again, if you're lucky I might even let you take it off afterwards." Richie groaned at the thought, his hands gripping Eddie's hips as he slowly began to grind up into Eddie's crotch._  
_"Oh baby, you know exactly what to say to get me going, I will take you wherever you want, whenever you want... you tell me and I'll arrange it."_  
_"How about you let me drive you to your interview next week, I'll wear the suit and if you behave properly I'll let you screw me in the backseat... then you can take me to that real nice Italian near the studio afterwards." Richie dragged his nails over the small of Eddie's back as he ground down harder, his face getting lower as he panted onto Richie's lips._  
_"I will let you drive me wherever you want, it's a date, oh god baby, you drive me mad."_  
_"All this is on one condition."_  
_"Anything."_  
_"Pinky promise that we'll always be this happy and in love, that fifty years from now we'll still be renewing our vows and driving our friends mad because even after all the time we've been together, we still can't keep our hands off each other?" Richie smiled and moved one hand off Eddie's back and linked their little fingers together._  
_"I pinky promise."_


	6. bonus:)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie waited for the crowd to calm down before starting his new joke, it was such a rush being back on stage on tour for the first time in five years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, can you believe i've finally finished this fic? i've finally done it, this is the official final chapter and i'm going to miss writing this so much:(

Richie waited for the crowd to calm down before starting his new joke, it was such a rush being back on stage on tour for the first time in five years; he needed time to get Eddie settled, needed time to calm himself down and write a new show with new jokes that was entirely his material rather than what other people wrote for him. Eddie always said he found Richie's original material way funnier than anything his writers could come up with and with having him sat on the front row, he really needed to do something special for him and so far the crowd has loved it. He felt proud that even after so long out of the scene, only doing a few gigs here and there and a few performances on television shows, he still managed to sell out venues across America, his management team were in talks of even taking his new show, _Pinky Promise_, across the pond depending on the reviews but so far everything was looking positive and Eddie was so excited to go to England with Richie even if he couldn't stay for the whole tour.  
He looked out at the crowd again, his eyes met Eddie's who was wearing a _damn suit_ while everyone else was wearing jeans and a t-shirt but he looked so delicious that Richie really had to make sure he didn't slip up on any of his jokes, he had to pray he'd be okay when it came to making the DVD recording in a few shows time because he _knew_ that Eddie would be there (_"I'd hate to miss that, who knows? I might even get to be on it if they scan the crowds!"_), he'd hate for the viewers to see how badly he was coping at trying to hide his budding arousal caused by his glorious husband.

  
"So, I grew up in a tiny little town in Maine," The theatre grew quiet again, "Growing up I knew this kid, he was literally five foot nothing and seemed to be allergic to everything and anything, I kid you not, he use to use his inhaler so much he practically breathed through the thing. He lived his life through statistics like, we used to play in this quarry where we lived, we'd jump off this cliff into the water below and we'd be having fun while he's sat there telling us all that," Richie cleared his throat and made his voice sound higher, "'_Statistically speaking we're more likely to die through contracting disease from this water than jumping from that cliff'_ and then proceeded to list a million different types of sickness you'd catch cos he mom told him so. He was so fucking annoying and I used to love to rile him up because we were friends and that's what friends do, anyway, I remember thinking to myself 'well, according to statistics one in four people are gay, so there's seven of us in our group, one of us is gay' but I never said it out loud because this was the 80's and we lived in a tiny little town that thew slurs at you for fun, but I used to think really hard about who could have been the gay one, I used to think of this five foot nothing boy and think 'I hope it's him, God he's cute'." The crowd started laughing again, Richie glanced down at the front row to see Eddie shake his head and roll his eyes.

  
"I left that town, we finished school which sadly meant our little club split up because that's what happens, right? You grow up and forget you have friends, you promise to visit and keep in touch and like hell if you bother, plus it wasn't like we had Facebook or anything, we didn't even have laptops by this time so we all went different ways and that was that but twelve years later I ran into the five foot nothing boy, only he actually grew and is five foot nine now and want to know something? I was _r__ight_, he was the gay one, want to know how I know? I fucking married him. Felt so smug through my vows, knowing I had been right all this time." The laughter got louder and Richie couldn't stop the small chuckle himself, it was stupid but so far people have seemed to love the joke. Richie stopped laughing and walked across the stage, hand in pocket.

  
"In all seriousness I love my husband like a shit tonne, we've been married fifteen years now... I know, I know, shocking right? Trashmouth Tozier has a husband who hasn't done a runner? What's all that about? But anyway, we were attacked a couple years back and he was seriously hurt and I just remember being so scared, and as he lay there, ya know, dying, he looked at me and said '_Richie, I have to tell you something_' and I was expecting emotions, I was expecting him to profess his undying love to me, his husband, but want to know what he said?" Richie stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the stage, his eyes glancing down at Eddie who was blushing as he laughed, "He said '_I fucked your mom_'." Eddie was hiding his face in his hands and Richie really wanted to drag him on stage to show everyone the guy who said those words to him but he resisted the urge, "Like wow, thanks babe, you're literally bleeding out right now and you choose your final words to be _those_, he's okay now, he's fine, he recovered but imagine, okay just imagine that he wasn't and people asked me what his final words to me were and I had to admit my husband chose a 'mom' joke over saying I love you? Most people would be angry about that, part of me wanted to yell at him for being insensitive during that moment but after years of me telling him how I'd bang his mother as we grew up I had to admit I was impressed, he got the upper hand on me this time and I kinda felt proud in a weird way so, I did what any logical man would do, I married him again. I can't seem to stop marrying this man," Richie had to pause for a moment, taking in the laughter from his audience, this was a risky joke talking about that moment and talking about Eddie but the crowd was eating it up and seemed to be loving every minute of it, it was the first show he'd done in years and Eddie must have had a point, there had barely been a silent moment throughout his show once he put in his own jokes rather than his old stuff he used to get given, Richie walked back over to the mic stand and attached his microphone back on, "I'm honestly, just so thankful for my husband, he's given me so many happy years and without him I wouldn't have half the jokes I have for you now, thank you and good night!" he waved at the crowd before walking off stage as the curtains closed behind him.

  
He took the water offered by the stagehand, not realising how dry his throat had become and, _damn_, he was so out of practice when it came to live performances. His manager came to talk to him as he walked to his dressing room, he was talking a mile a minute about how well the audience had reacted, how going to England looked more and more likely and that he doesn't have time to go to his dressing room because he had that meet and greet to go to. Richie sighed, he had completely forgotten about that, normally he met the fans who had paid to meet him before the show and maybe he'd go out and meet a few lucky ones by the stage door, only this time the timings with the venue was off so the meet and greet had to be done after the show or something like that, Richie can barely remember the conversation his had with his manager (not like he would say that out loud, Eddie gets so pissy when Richie tells him he doesn't really listen to his manager), but the people had paid and he loved his fans so he downed the rest of his water, passed the now empty glass to his manager who then passed it onto someone else and walked to the back room where the meet and greet was being held.

  
Richie was joking with the last couple of fans as he signed their posters when he came in, making Richie stutter and blush, his fans laughing at his love-struck face but Richie didn't care because Eddie was right in front of him in a damn _suit_ (a fucking _three piece_ suit, with the waistcoat and jacket and, _fuck_, he was so gorgeous), smirking at him from across the room. Richie signed the last poster, smiled for the last picture and waved as the last of the meet and greet left the room and then, it was only those two left and Eddie was stood so close to him and it felt like Richie hadn't been with his husband for _weeks_ when it had literally only been a day. He honestly dreaded the idea of Eddie having to leave part way through the tour when real life calls him back to his job.

  
"Hope I'm not too late." Eddie said, hands behind his back.  
"Too late for what?"  
"The meet and greet."  
"What are you on about?" Richie asked.  
"I bought a ticket for a meet and greet with you, I got a little held up with security and didn't think I was going to make it."  
"What happened with security? Babe, I'm so confused." Eddie just laughed and wrapped his arms around Richie's neck.  
"I genuinely did buy a ticket for the meet and greet, wanted to surprise you and ask you to sign my ticket or some shit but I left it at home before coming here, I think I was just so excited to see your show," Eddie said, "But I thought maybe it wouldn't matter, I mean I _am_ your husband but security didn't believe me."  
"They... They didn't believe you?" Richie spluttered, trying to bite back his laughter as he put his hands on Eddie's waist, "What did they do? Refuse you entry?"  
"Yeah, actually, they did," Eddie was trying not to laugh too, "Had to get out our wedding photo from my wallet to use as proof, I miss Lee and Bryn, at least they just let me through without any backstage passes."  
"Hey, I've been out of the show business scene for a while now, they moved on," Richie said, "I'm glad you were allowed to come back here, I don't think I could have spent another minute away from you."  
"Do you like the suit?" Eddie was smirking again, stepping closer to press them flush together.  
"Do I like the... _Jesus Christ, Eddie_," Richie shook his head, "I like the suit more than I'd ever want to admit."  
"I bought it just for this moment, just for you."  
"I would have been heartbroken if you bought it for someone else."  
"What about me in a suit gets you so hot and bothered? I wear a suit to work every day?"  
"And every day, when you leave our room all smartly dressed and ready to leave, I am one step closer to fucking creaming my pants babe." Eddie laughed and shook his head.  
"You have such a delicate way with words."  
"You know it... now..." Richie smirked, letting his hands fall to Eddie's ass, gripping it tightly, "Are you gonna let me unwrap you?"  
"Unwrap me?"  
"Yeah, cos you're a fucking gift babe."  
"You woo me so," Eddie pressed his lips against Richie's for the first time since the morning and Richie felt like he could breathe again, despite how cliched that sounded. Their kissing became a little more desperate and Richie knew they had to leave before-  
"Amazing, brilliant, well done," Richie's manager said, walking through the door, Richie groaned and dropped his head on to Eddie's shoulder, refusing to let go of his husband, "So well received Rich, I can see this tour going far."  
"Dude, seriously? You wanna talk to me about that shit _now_?" Richie huffed, "We literally spoke about how amazing I am like an hour ago when I got off stage."  
"And we're you really listening to me?"  
"I heard the part where you told me I was amazing?" Richie said, turning his head to look at his manager but not removing it from Eddie's shoulder, "That was enough right?"  
"Honestly, Rich, how do you expect to go further when you never listen to anything I say?"  
"I expect to go further because you're a fucking good manager Chris, you'll sort it for me."  
"I bet you always expect Eddie to always sort things for you at home too?" Eddie just laughed at that.  
"Well, I was in the process of sorting him out but you're a cockblock."  
"Beep beep Richie." Eddie said, running his fingers through the hair at the nape of Richie's neck.  
"Oh yeah, beep beep the trashmouth, huh? You'll be talking in Morse Code if you want me to shut up about how I was going to f..."  
"Richie! Stop!" Eddie tried to sound stern but his was laughing too hard to keep a straight face as he pushed Richie away from him, " You're at _work_."  
"Nothing Chris ain't heard before."  
"It's also not stuff I really want to hear again if you don't mind," Chris shook his head and sighed at him, "You did well, go celebrate back at your hotel but make sure you're ready to set off by nine tomorrow morning, have to get to the next venue by the early afternoon."  
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing."  
"Front of the hotel by nine, got it," Eddie said, "I'll make sure he gets there."  
"What would I do without you Eddie, honestly?"  
"You'd have an unruly comedian who never turned up on time?" Chris just laughed and Richie just loved how he could mix his personal life in with his work one and everyone was so okay with it.  
"You got that right, will you be joining us?" Eddie nodded, moving closer to Richie again to wrap his arms around his waist, Richie held him back and rested his head on top of Eddie's, loving how small his husband was.  
"Yeah, got the next few tour dates off but then I'll have to leave you with him, think you can manage?"  
"I have your number on speed dial," Chris said, "Now go, both of you." Richie really didn't have to be told twice as he pulled Eddie out of the room still in their somewhat awkward embrace but they were laughing and happy and the security who refused Eddie entry were still there and Richie laughed harder because how could they _not_ know he was married to Eddie? They spend most of their time joined at the hip that it was obvious to _everyone_ but Richie stopped questioning it when Eddie push him into the back of a cab and started kissing at his jaw.

Six years after leaving Derry for good and Richie had never felt happier. Eddie's limo company was thriving, Richie was once again a big name within comedy and his comeback tour was well received, despite it being his first date, which he was so grateful for. He was still in contact with all the losers, each one having tickets booked for different dates on his tour and they were meeting up at the end of the month to celebrate Bev and Ben's little girls first birthday.

  
He rolled over to look at Eddie was was dozing off, his sweaty hair plastered to his forehead and Richie knew he would complain in the morning for the fact he didn't shower after they fucked and left it at Richie wiping him down with a damp washcloth but he seemed so content in his little sweaty world that he didn't want to break the moment by suggesting they shower properly. He ran his fingers through Eddie's hair, a soft smile on his face as Richie started massaging his scalp and Richie still couldn't believe it had been so long since that moment, so long ago he nearly lost the one person he loved more than anything in this world but here they were, in bed together and they were _happy_.

  
Eddie snuggled closer to Richie, blinking up lazily as he brought his hand up to rest next to Richie's on his chest, linking their pinky fingers together, that one small gesture meaning so much to the both of them, that one gesture becoming such a huge part of their lives, so huge they had it engraved on their wedding rings to remember the promise they made to each other all those years ago; to come back from Derry so hopelessly and pathetically in love like they were before they left and even after all these years, their promise was still going strong.

  
Richie kissed Eddie's forehead and let his eyes shut, both of them murmuring an /I love you/ to each other as they started to let sleep drag them under when Richie remembered something, _"Hey babe? Why does Chris have you on speed dial? Should I be worried?" Eddie just let out an airy laugh._  
_"Shut the fuck up and go to sleep."_  
_"But.."_  
_"Beep beep Richie and go the fuck to sleep." Richie smiled and pulled his husband closer, letting their legs tangle together as they cuddled as close as they possibly could._  
_"I love you."_  
_"I love you too."_

**Author's Note:**

> i know i mention that they're married in every other sentence but i am so obsessed with husbands rn, i just love the 'this is my husband' like omg how domestic


End file.
